The creators behind Chuck have engaged in some impressive casting throughout the series, starting with Zachary Levi and Adam Baldwin at the outset and, more recently, fun performances by folks like Bruce Boxleitner, Arnold Vosloo, Kristin Kreuk, Brandon Routh, and Scott Bakula--names seemingly designed to pique the interests of sci-fi fans in particular.

So it's no surprise that, with Chuck's mom positioned as a focal point of the upcoming fourth season, the producers have cast Linda Hamilton, forever to be known as that waitress who took a level in badass.

Hamilton will play Mary Bartowski, the long-time missing mother of Chuck (Levi) and Ellie (Sarah Lancaster), joining the series as a recurring guest. Scenes in the season 3 finale set up Mary's disappearance when Chuck and Ellie were young, and that she's now connected somehow to the freelance spy work that Chuck's dad was working on before he died.

Chuck premieres its fourth season on September 20. Warner Home Video will release Chuck: The Complete Third Season on Blu-ray and DVD on September 7.

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MOVIES—Opening this week:

Charlie St. Cloud (2010)
A movie like this, an adaptation of a widely loved romantic novel in which a young man with derailed dreams starts seeing his dead kid brother, could be magical or unbelievably corny: it's an impossibly thin line to tread. Is actor-turned-director Burr Steers (who directed Efron in his last fantasy project, the effective but much less serious 17 Again) the one to keep it from being sappy? The writers' credits run the gamut from Moulin Rouge! and Strictly Ballroom to October Sky, so there's reason to hope for subtlety. It's probably worth a look. More details below the jump.
 Trailers, clips, and video.  Image Gallery.

HOME VIDEO—Out on DVD and Blu-Ray this week:

Clash of the Titans (2010)
A talented cast elevates this remake of the 1981 stop-motion camp classic into something just above a spectacular CGI-fest. The updated video page features a big pile of clips, interviews, and trailers. Features: Maximum Movie - Harnessing the Gods; Sam Worthington: An Action Hero for the Ages; Alternate Ending; Additional Scenes. More details below the jump.
 Compare prices.  Trailers, clips, and video.  Movie Review.  Image Gallery.

Repo Men (2010)
A complete misfire—a gory, mindless mess and a misuse of several good actors. It might work for you on some level, but it's not the high-minded sci-fi thriller it thinks it is. You might just have more fun watching Repo: The Genetic Opera. The video page has been updated with lots of new interviews and clips. Comes with both the theatrical version and an unrated version. Features: Deleted Scenes; The Union Commercials; Inside the Visual Effects; Feature Commentary with Director Miguel Sapochnik and Writers Eric Garcia and Garrett Lerner. More details below the jump.
 Compare prices.  Trailers, clips, and video.  Movie Review.  Image Gallery.

Ray Bradbury's Chrysalis (2008)
We've seen Ray Bradbury adapted well as an ascetic sci-fi classic, and poorly as an overblown effects blockbuster; now comes Bradbury as the low-budget horror film. Despite the involvement of Bradbury himself, the outgrowth of producer Roger Lay Jr.'s 2007 doc on the master, director Tony Báez Milán's final product does disservice both to Bradbury and to thrillers. Features: Audio Commentary With Author Ray Bradbury and Producer Roger Lay, Jr.; Making-Of Featurette Including A Look Behind-The-Scenes and Footage From Comic Con. More details below the jump.
 Compare prices.  Trailers, clips, and video.

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TELEVISION—New episodes this week from:

• Being Human,
• Eureka,
• Futurama,
• The Gates,
• Haven,
• True Blood, and
• Warehouse 13.

Guest stars this week include

Synopses below the jump. For details see the listings (regular or alphabetical). For sci-fi/fantasy movies on TV this week go to movie listings. Read more...

The most interesting aspect of the Avengers flick, as with the X-Men prequel, has always been the casting. Who will they get? Who will they have to replace? Who'll turn out to be the out-of-left-field choice that turns out to save the movie?

News on all three fronts broke over the weekend, as Deadline Hollywood confirmed that Mark Ruffalo has signed on to play Bruce Banner in Joss Whedon's The Avengers, currently set for release in 2012, followed by Ruffalo appearing in person at the Avengers panel at Comic-Con. (Want to see a pic of the whole cast, on-stage at Comic-Con? Click here.)

The 43-year-old Ruffalo, known as a talented character actor (he played opposite Leo in Shutter Island) and occasional romantic lead (Just Like Heaven), replaces Edward Norton, who played Banner in Louis Leterrier's 2008 version of The Incredible Hulk. At the time, Norton had a tense relationship with Marvel Studios, clashing publicly over financial issues and the movie's creative direction.

Ruffalo, with a lower profile, and pricetag, than Norton, offers the same benefits of a seasoned film actor toward the portrayal of one of the Avengers' more tortured members, but without Norton's baggage.

Already cast: Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America, Chris Hemsworth (George Kirk in Star Trek) as Thor, Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man, Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye, and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury.

Ruffalo has proven himself in a wide range of very different roles. This looks to me like excellent news.

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